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The people of Michigan hired themselves a GOP businessman to be governor in 2011. And what they got was children poisoned by public water in Flint.

That is, what they got was a government run based on GOP business values.

To line the pockets of CEOs and shareholders, corporations cut corners in ways that frequently end up injuring workers and the public. Think of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster where safety violations killed 29 workers or the Takata airbag fatalities that occurred despite workers voicing safety concerns or the nine deaths and 714 illnesses caused by salmonella-contaminated peanut butter knowingly sold by Peanut Corporation of America.

So, really, the lead poisoning of Flint children by a government based on Republican business values is no surprise.

Last week, in his state of the state address, GOP Gov. Rick Snyder, formerly a venture capitalist, apologized to the people of Flint who have been drinking water tainted with a known, potent neurotoxin since April of 2014. And then Snyder said, “I will fix it.”

Lead poisoning is irreversible. It can’t be fixed. In addition, now, two outbreaks of Legionnaires Disease that sickened 87 and killed 10 have been linked to the foul water. There’s no fixing dead people.

The GOP businessman-governor also said in his state of the state address last week: “Government failed you.” That’s exactly what Republicans want. They want government to fail so that they can justify crushing it, eliminating much of what it does for people and turning over the rest to private business, which profits by cutting corners the way Peanut Corporation of America did.

Then, when it all falls apart like it did in Flint, it’s amazing how quick those Republicans put their hands out for a federal bailout. That’s what Snyder did. He’s a venture capitalist, after all. That’s the Wall Street way.

Michigan didn’t have to poison Flint’s children. That was a values choice. And Republican Gov. Rick Snyder values big business more than little children.

Immediately after Snyder got elected, he gave his corporate buddies a big fat tax break and raised taxes on individuals, including poor people and pensioners. An analysis by the Detroit Free Press in 2014 showed individuals were forking over a total of $900 million more a year. By contrast, businesses paid $1.7 billion less annually after Snyder cut their tax bills.

If corporations had paid their fair share in taxes over the five years that Snyder has been in charge, Michigan would have an additional $8.5 billion to help struggling cities like Flint afford clean water and struggling school districts like Detroit afford decent education. But giving businesses a tax break was more important to GOP businessman Snyder.

Long before Snyder took office, Flint fell into financial trouble as the auto industry abandoned it. But the Republican governor’s administration appointed the emergency manager who decided to disconnect Flint from a safe public water source and draw instead from the Flint River to save between $1 million and $2 million a year.

Almost immediately, the people of Flint began complaining. The Flint River water was yellow, orange or brown. It tasted and smelled bad. It caused rashes and nausea. It produced so much corrosion at a GM plant that the factory switched to another water source.

The public water that had been piped to Flint homes from Lake Huron for nearly five decades had been treated to prevent metals in the pipes and pipe joints from leaching out. The water from the Flint River was untreated, even though it is more corrosive. So lead and iron leached into the water drawn by Flint residents. Both metals are dangerous.

Smelly, foul-tasting orange and brown water was good enough for Flint residents as far as the Snyder administration was concerned. Beyond ignoring the concerns of Flint residents, officials within his administration aggressively mocked and belittled them.

That’s definitely a government run on GOP-business values failing the people. Just like Peanut Corporation of America.

One of those independent studies was conducted by pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Last September, she found aspike in blood lead levels in Flint children, some three times higher than those in earlier routine tests.

Among the poisoned is 4-year-old Gavin Walters, who lost 27 pounds after the water switch and who sometimes seemed unable to pronounce words he knew, his mother, LeeAnne Walters, told the New York Times. “He is going to deal with the side effects of this for the rest of his life,” Ms. Walters said. “I don’t think there’s a word angry enough to describe my anger.”

Last fall, after the state couldn’t deny the results of the independent studies anymore, Snyder’s administration agreed to come up with most of the $12 million needed to restore Lake Huron water to Flint. Had the state given Flint $12 million three years ago, the children of Flint would not have been poisoned.

Then last week, Snyder asked state lawmakers to allocate $28 million to help Flint. And he appealed President Obama’s denial of his request to declare Flint a federal disaster area and give him $96 million to fix it.

This was not a Hurricane Katrina or Super Storm Sandy. The tragedy in Flint was a choice. This was a values decision about what was important. Giving a break to big business was the top priority for venture capitalist Snyder. Operating a shoddy government, over-taxing pensioners and poisoning Flint’s children was the result.

And now Snyder is demanding a $96 million federal bailout. Just like Wall Street. When those capitalists mess up, then all of a sudden they think government works.

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Leo Gerard is international president of the United Steelworkers Union, part of the AFL-CIO. The son of a union miner; Gerard started working at a nickel smelter in Sudbury, Ontario, at age 18, and rose through the union's ranks to be appointed the seventh international president Feb. 28, 2001. For more information about Gerard, visit usw.org.

Sheep led to the slaughter.....following the Judas goat.. is unity there is safety. Hostess cakes gave the executives raises and bonuses - and declared bankruptcy....approved by the courts. Pensions were cut in Detroit - workers earned them and were living on them - approved by the courts. A&P / Path-mark gave bonuses and declared bankruptcy - approved by the courts. New Jersey did not pay into the pensions as agreed - but they increased paying Wall Street administration fees....settled a lawsuit of 6 to 8 billion dollars for 225 million dollars saying what a good deal it is.... WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?? THIS IS AN ORGANIZED ATTACK ON THE WORKERS....Why do you think the police are being militarized?? Wall Street got bonuses while "WE the PEOPLE" bailed them out......why does the FED buy bonds to support them??

Posted by William Bednarz on 2016-05-08 18:07:49

What is happening in Michigan is being watch as a test by the corporate oligarchy on how to run poor people out of the area that have resources. Michigan have lots of fresh water and a few years down the line water will be more valuable.

All this is about privately owning fresh water by a tiny filthy rich few.

Michigan have the greatest access to fresh water in the world, the Great Lakes is 21 percent of all the fresh water in the world. The Oligarchy want it for themselves, so what do they do, they send filthy, lead loaded water to the poor and hoard decent water for themselves for PROFIT.

Remember what Nestle CEO that have political connections with Gov Snyder said, that people do not have a right to water.

Posted by eldwdubu on 2016-02-03 14:11:52

Michiganers, arise! Take back your state from people who refuse to govern. Elect people who know the promise of good government and good governance. It's not an either/or; it's possible to have good governance, progressive public policy, and sound economics that benefit the entire state and its workers. It's been demonstrated over and over and over again that Conservative business types don't believe in government or sound governance, and so they Don't. Govern. At. All. You reap what you sow.

Posted by southmpls on 2016-01-31 13:22:40

This thing is right out of the Republican playbook. Cut government spending and tax breaks for the wealthy. It doesn't matter that the emergency manager is a Democrat. He's a state employee and does what he is told. There's probably plenty of blame to go around but Governor Snyder bears much if not most of the responsibility for this catastrophe.

Posted by anyone2 on 2016-01-31 10:36:54

The emergency manager who made the decision? A Democrat. A Republican governor couldn't appoint a Republican to the emergency manager position--though, of course, it would have greatly benefited the city had he done so. But people like Leo Gerard wouldn't have stood for it---Flint is a completely Democrat city, with a completely Democrat government, and an almost entirely Democrat population. So Snyder gave them a long-running Democrat. The city council that also agreed with the decision? All Democrats. The water utility managers? Democrats. The mayor? Democrat. The author of this story? A moron Democrat. This isn't GOP government. It's Democrat government. The successive administrations in Flint for decades that bankrupted Flint? Democrats. The Detroit water utility that cut Flint off early? Democrats.

Gerard, you vicious liar, you say "The tragedy in Flint was a choice." It was--and every single choice made that created that tragedy was made by Democrats. Every single choice, every decision.

It takes a vicious and ignorant partisan to add up all the Democrats who made every single decision in Flint's water supply and come up with a completely uninvolved Republican, who made not one decision in Flint's water supply, as the guilty party. You're a sleazy, dishonest man, Gerard.

Posted by Da St on 2016-01-28 22:42:03

The citizens of Flint Michigan were poisoned! It was not an accident. The state knew two years ago something was wrong with the water. Poor Black and White people of this city cannot take a bath. They cannot drink the water. Their children are going to suffer years of both physical and mental damage. Meanwhile, The Governor and his republican cronies are shifting blame, stalling, hiding, and blaming Obama and local government for a MESS they created. There was no local government. Snyder paid Emergency managers to take over Flint, and other poor cities in Michigan. They reported directly to him. On top of that, the Governor and his pals have the GALL to continue to demand payment for water people cannot drink.

Posted by Ricardo Quest on 2016-01-26 12:28:08

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